13th July 2023 (6 Topics)
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Ospreys’ population decline in Atlantic Ocean
Context
According to recent findings, there has been lowest reproductive number in more than 50 years of monitoring the local population of the Ospreys ‘a raptor’.
- This decline has happened due to shortage of fish species named ‘Atlantic menhaden’ and food for them.
About Ospreys:
- Ospreys are very large, distinctively shaped hawks. Despite their size, their bodies are slender, with long, narrow wings and long legs.
- Ospreys are brown above and white below, and overall they are whiter than most raptors.
- From below, the wings are mostly white with a prominent dark patch at the wrists.
- The head is white with a broad brown stripe through the eye.
- Juveniles have white spots on the back and buffy shading on the breast.
- Ospreys reside around nearly any body of water: saltmarshes, rivers, ponds, reservoirs, estuaries, and even coral reefs.
- Their conspicuous stick nests are placed in the open on poles, channel markers, and dead trees, often over water.
Atlantic menhaden:
- These fishes are found in coastal and estuarine waters from Nova Scotia to northern Florida, Atlantic menhaden play many important roles.
- They are filter feeders, primarily consuming phytoplankton and zooplankton in the water column. Menhaden support an important commercial fishery.
- They constitute the largest landings, by volume, along the Atlantic Coast of the United States.
- Menhaden are harvested for use as fertilizers, animal feed, and bait for fisheries including blue crab and lobster.
- They are a major source of omega-3 fatty acids, so they are also used to develop human and animal supplements.
- In estuaries like the Chesapeake Bay, they are food for striped bass and other fish, as well as for predatory birds, including osprey and eagles.
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